During this year's AIDS Vaccine Conference in Montreal, Canada, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) released its annual report examining the state of the AIDS vaccine field. AVAC makes recommendations for meeting the challenges to the development of a safe, effective and accessible AIDS vaccine. The report, 'AIDS Vaccines at the Crossroads', is available at www.avac.org and includes some of the following sections:

• 'Ten Years and Counting'
  (www.avac.org ) is a timeline of AVAC recommendations - along with key outcomes and events - over the past decade.
• 'Follow the money: money, development and research'
  (www.avac.org ) looks at the state of funding for AIDS vaccine research and development in the context of increased attention to global development issues and the changing landscape of access to treatment and existing prevention.
• 'Don't shoot the messenger: an update on tenofovir research'
  (www.avac.org ) examines how controversies surrounding clinical trials of tenofovir have brought a number of festering issues in international clinical research to public attention. It reiterates the recommendations AVAC made earlier in the year, including better coordination among disparate trials and multiple sponsors, and more planning and preparation for making tenofovir globally accessible if it is widely licensed for use.

The full version of 'AIDS Vaccines at the Crossroads' is available online at www.avac.org or to request a print copy, email: [email protected]

Horizons/Population Council and Family Health International (FHI) have released a new resource: 'Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings: Guidelines and Resources'.

The publication is designed for programme managers and researchers who work with children and adolescents, including those affected by HIV/AIDS. Recognising that methods for working with adults cannot simply be transferred to young people, this new resource identifies challenges that confront investigators and programme implementers working with children and adolescents, and proposes practical approaches to dealing with them. It provides case studies that highlight the roles of research and programme staff in ensuring that child-related activities are conducted ethically.

This publication was developed under the leadership of a steering committee composed of representatives of USAID, UNICEF, Horizons/Population Council, and FHI/Impact.

'Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings: Guidelines and Resources' is also available on the Population Council's website at: www.popcouncil.org.

Print copies will be available in October 2005. To request a print copy, contact [email protected] with your mailing address.